Then and now
by pl12
Summary: It was supposed to be a simple case. The usual routine... Going to the place of murder... Interrogating the witnesses... Finding the clues... But in the world of crime, nothing seems to be the way it looks like. Old enemies... Shifting allegiances... Forgotten memories... New allies... And death... It can turn out to be a blessing in disguise, in the world of crime and espionage.
1. Chapter 1

_" Out of this nettle, danger, we pluck this flower, safety."_

_...William Shakespeare (1564-1616), Henry 1V, Part One (1597)_

* * *

Now,

India,

Mumbai,

D.T.S Road,

20 October, 2011

11:30 p.m.

It is a full moon night and not even a wisp of cloud is to be seen in the sky, making it clear and the only comfort can be taken in the fact that a slight breeze is blowing, thus rippling the leaves of the trees.

But for a certain man, this holds no meaning for him as he is now in a life or death situation. For the past half hour, he has been running away from some goons who are after him. Not knowing whether he will live to see the next few seconds of his life or not, he dashes through the road, finally making his way through a shortcut, reaching the highway.

* * *

Then,

India,

Mumbai,

Highway 29,

20 October, 2011

11:30 p.m.

A car is seen speeding through the highway with two people inside it, with the man on the driving seat in a seemingly good mood and the other man looking at the said person enquiringly with a teasing smile on his lips.

" Ahkhir baat kya hai, hain ? Tabse main dekh raha hoon ki aapke chehre pein ek hasii jaisa kuch hai. Kya baat hai ? Kiske khaboh mein dubein huwe ho ? Kya kisi larki ne propoe kar diya hai ?"

" Kya Abhijit, tum bhi na. Aare aisa kuch bhi nahi hai. Main toh baas aise hi kuch soch raha tha aur waise bhi mere aisa kismat kaha ki koi larki mujshe moor kar dekhe. Waise aapki baat toh kuch alaag hi hai jo Dr. Tareeka already booked hai.''

" Daya, tum bhi-''

" Yeh loh, Abhijit, tumhara kaam toh ho gaya. Jab hamesha main Tareeka ka naam tumhare saamne leta hoon, toh tum mujshe hamesha chup kara dete ho. Kabhi toh mujshe aapna baat poora karne do. Haan toh, main yeh keh raha tha ki Taree-''

Daya's playful teasing comes to an end when he feels Abhijit's right hand on his mouth.

" Aur ek shabd bhi bola na toh accha nahi hoga, samjhe Daya. Apne kaam pe dhyaan do.''

Daya's smile never wavers even when he feels Abhijit's hand leaving his mouth, finally resting on the owner's lap. Turning to Abhijit, what he saw nearly made him howl in laughter. He could not resist giving a big smile to himself when he saw Abhijit pointedly ignoring looking towards Daya, who with a smile on his face, moves his eyes towards the road and was about to speed up the car, when he felt the touch of Abhijit's hand on his wrist.

" Kya hua Abhijit ?''

" Gaari ruko Daya.''

Daya almost looked ready to bang his head on the steering wheel in exasperation at the stubborness of his closest friend, who looked ready to exit the car at any moment, judging by his body language.

" Abhijit, yeh tumhe ho kya gaya hai ? Tum itne mein hi bura maan gaye. Aur waise bhi-"

" Daya, darashal baat yeh nahi hai. Maine abhi abhi thora aage kisiko road cross karte hue dekha.''

Daya stopped the car immediately, more out of stunned surprise, rather than the urgentness in Abhijit's voice, who looked towards Daya with a calculated expression on his face.

" Kya ? Aur woh bhi itni raat ko ? Baarah baajne hi waale hai. Itni raat ko woh aadmi yaha aakhir kaar kya rahe hai aur woh bhi itni sunsaan jagaah pe ? Mujshe toh-"

Daya immediately stops when he hears the sound of a gunshot nearby, startling Abhijit.

" Goli ki awaaz ? Lagta hai kisi ki-"

Abhijit was about to exit the car when he feels Daya's grip on his wrist pulling him back, who looked determined not to let Abhijit go alone.

" Aare, yeh kya kaar rahe ho, Daya ? Jaane kyu nahi dete mujshe ?"

" Yeh baat tum sochna bhi maat. Mujshe batao, tum aakhir kaar kya rahe ho, Abhijit ? Tumhara tabiyet kuch kaal se theek nahi hai aur tum ho ki woh jungle mein akele jaane waale the. Ek kaam karo, tum yehi ruko, main dekh ke aata hoon."

" Aur agar tumhe kuch ho gaya toh ? Bilkul nahi, main bhi tumhare saath jaata hoon."

With this, Abhijit exited the car and ran towards the jungle with Daya in tow. Not finding anything, they decided to split up in different directions.

" Yaha toh koi bhi nahi hai. Tum ek kaam karo, Daya. Tum uss taraf jao aur main iss taraf jaata hoon. Kuch mile toh call karna. Aur haan, sambhalke jaana."

" Tum bhi."

With this, both Abhijit and Daya headed towards different directions, splitting away from each other. Both of them entered the jungle with a vow to find that man who had crossed the road into the jungle. And after a few good minutes searching here and there for that man, now both of them are thinking that maybe they are wasting their time on a non-existent man.

Abhijit was about to call Daya when Daya himself called him.

" Abhijit, maine idhar udhar haar jagaah dhoonda par woh aadmi mujse kahi nahi mila. Tumhe kuch mila ?"

" Mila matlaab ? Kuch bhi nahi mila. Mujshe toh aab yeh laagne lag-"

Abhijit's pattern of speech comes to an end when he hears the unmistakable sound of a gunshot nearby and followed by two more gun shots again.

"Phir se goli ki awaaz ? Tumne woh awwaz suni, Daya ? Tum ek kaam karo, tum yaha aa jao. Main ja raha hoon. Iss baar yeh awaaz mere bohot kareeb lagta hai. Main dekhta hoon."

With this, Abhijit switched his cell off and ran towards the direction of the gunshots without giving Daya any chance to protest. And Daya having no choice,also followed in the direction of the gunshots and probably towards the same place where Abhijit is also heading.

Abhijit has no idea as to how far he has ventured deep into the jungle without any idea as to where it will lead. He was about to veer into a different direction when he heard a rustling sound quite nearby and moving towards the sound, he saw a scene which made his blood run cold. He saw one of his best informers, Bhanu, lying on the ground with multiple gun wounds on his chest.

Running to Bhanu, Abhijit cradled his head on his lap and pressed his coat to the gun wounds to stop the blood flow.

" Bhanu, yeh tumhare saath kisne kiya, hain ? Kaun the woh log ?"

" Pata nahi….sahaab..par…mujshe lagta hai ki…woh log aapko dhoo-"

And the rest of the sentence got drowned in painful and hacking coughs. Seeing him in pain, Abhijit without wasting any time hurriedly carried him towards the direction of the car. And just when he was about to reach the car, he saw Daya coming towards him from the left side with a look of disbelief on his face seeing the scene.

" Daya, jaldi hospital ki taraaf muro. Jitne jaldi ho sake utni jaaldi. Aur baaki sawwal baad mein."

Without wasting any time, Daya opened the door for them while he himself entered the car and drove away to the nearest hospital, all the while looking at the front mirror to see Abhijit pressing his coat, bunched up on Bhanu's chest to stop the bleeding.

Reaching the hospital, without wasting any time, the doctors took Bhanu away to the operating room. And only then, Daya took a good look at Abhijit properly, who looked quite tensed judging by his body language at seeing Bhanu's blood on his coat which is now in his hands.

Daya could not fathom the reason as to why Abhijit is looking like he is in a trance and it was only when Daya put his jacket on Abhijit's shoulder, then only he seemed to wake up suddenly and looked up at Daya with a blank face. At seeing the lost expression on his friend's face, Daya came and sat near him.

" Dekho, Abhijit, Bhanu ko kuch nahi hoga. Hum log hai na. Hum log pata laga lenge ki yeh saab kaise hua."

Abhijit simply nods his head without saying anything, prompting Daya to squeeze his thigh gently in a comforting gesture, and with a silent promise that they will get to the bottom of Bhanu's case.

The hours went by in a blur, unknown to both Abhijit and Daya and they have no idea as to how long they were sitting there at the hospital, waiting for the doctor to come out of the operating room with Bhanu's news. After some time, the doctor came out. However, it was good news that the doctor passed to them telling them that Bhanu is now well and will wake up in a few hours but he will need complete bed rest until he heals completely. And of asking questions, the doctor told them to keep it at a minimum level as possible.

When the doctor was about to go away, the nurse from inside Bhanu's room came running out of the room, startling the trio.

" Doctor, jaldi aaye. Patient ko achanak kuch ho gaya hai."

With that sentence coming out of the nurse's mouth, the trio ran towards the room. And before the doctor could go near Bhanu, he suddenly gave a violent gasp and then….nothing but silence.

Nothing that the doctor tried, could revive Bhanu, letting them all know the bad news that Bhanu is now not amongst them anymore. But how did he die remains the biggest question.

Having finding no answers, which stupefied the trio present in the room, both Abhijit and Daya sent the body to Dr. Salunkhe for post mortem, hoping against hope that maybe Dr. Salunkhe is now the only lone option who fills the answer to the question as to how Bhanu died.

* * *

The journey back to the bureau was passed in silence with Daya throwing worried glances at Abhijit every now and then. Entering the forensic department of the CID, both Abhijit and Daya came to know that they will be greeted by more bad news when faced with Dr. Salunkhe's face, who is looking at the dead body of Bhanu with a mixture of disbelief and incredulity, an expression that only he can pull off. And it is the same expression with how he greeted the both of them.

" Abhijit, tum mujshe khali yeh batayo ki akhir yeh aadmi tumhara kaun hai ? Koi khabri ya dost ?"

Seeing Abhijit's sad expression, Daya answered the question for him, which raised the eyebrows of Dr. Salunkhe.

" Agar, Abhijit, yeh tumhara khabri, Bhanu, hai, tab toh bohot baari garbaar hai."

" Kyun ? Aisa kya hai iss Bhanu ke laash mein ?"

At these words coming from Daya's mouth, Dr. Salunkhe looked at Daya directly in the eyes, then slowly turned to Abhijit.

" Dekho, Abhijit, tum bura maat maana. Lekin main yeh jaana chahta hoon ki tum akhir koi case pe toh kaam nahi kaar rahe ho ?"

At this sentence, something fast passed through Abhijit's eyes, though what was it, neither Daya nor Dr. Salunkhe could quite get it, but one thing they came to be sure of that, yes, something was there in Abhjit's eyes in that moment.

Was it shock ? Regret ? Guilt, maybe ? But what it was they could not quite put their hands on it. And before Dr. Salunkhe could ask Abhijit about it, it was Daya who asked the inevitable question to him.

" Par Dr. Salunkhe, iss sawaal ke saath Bhanu ka kya connection hai ? Aur waise bhi aap bata hi nahi rahe hai ki yeh aakhir maara kaise ?"

" Jo main tum dono ko batane jar raha hoon, yeh baat shayaad tum dono biswaas karo ya na karo, par sach yehi hai. Accha, tum dono ko aandaza bhi hai yeh Bhanu kaise maara ?"

" Kaise ?"

" Maine iss Bhanu ka poora body check kiya toh mujshe kahi pe koi chot ya jakham ke koi naamo nishan nahi mila. Shibaye uske saar ke."

" Kyu ? Usme koi problem hai kya ?"

"Problem matlaab, bohot baari problem, Daya. Iss Bhanu ke khopri ke undar ek chip plant kiya hua tha. Uss chip ko detonate kiya gaya hai. Jab detonate kiya gaya hai tabhi isski turaant maut ho gaya. Aur yeh chip ek bomb ki taarah hai jo timing pe detonate kiya gaya hai."

" Yeh aap kya keh rahe hai, doctor ? Maine toh aisa pehli baar suna hai ki aise chip se murder karte hue."

" Haan aur ek baat. Yeh kaam koi aam aadmi nahi kaar sakta. Woh koi surgeon hi ho sakta hai jo yeh kaar sakta hai. Upaar se yeh saab toh maine humare yaha hote hue na hi kabhi suna ya dekha hai. Mujshe toh yeh lagta hai ki yeh kisi baahar ka kaam hai."

" Matlaab aapka yeh kehna hai ki yeh saab humare desh mein nahi baalki kisi bidesh mein hua hai."

" Haan, yeh ho sakta hai. Aur haan, ek aur baat, yeh koi aisi waisi chip nahi hai. Yeh chip sirf computer gaming mein kaam aata hai jisme sirf codes hi hote hai. Aur yeh sirf chip bhi codes se activate kiya gaya hai, matlaab koi computer se jo sirf gaming codes ke liye kaam aata hai. Matlaab yeh koi aisa hi kaar sakta hai jo ek computer gaming expert hai aur woh bhi codes mein, matlaab ek codes expert. Aam aadmi ko toh yeh saab codes samaj mein hi nahi aayega, jaiseki mujshe. Mujshe toh yeh sab codes kuch samaaj mein hi nahi aa raha jo ki iss chip mein hai, jise mujshe Bhanu ke khopri mein se mila. Aao, main aaplogo ko dikhata hoon."

With that, Dr. Salunkhe showed both Abhijit and Daya, the chip, with Daya turning to look at Abhijit, who was looking at Bhanu's dead body. Just then, the sound of footsteps was heard outside revealing Sachin, who was looking embarrassedly at his seniors.

" Eer sir, darashal baat yeh hai ki main apna kuch cheez bhool gaya tha bureau mein toh mujshe phir se lautna para. Aur guard ne bhi yeh bataya ki aap log yaha hai toh main…"

Looking at Sachin, who trails off embarrassedly, Daya smiles at him, who only saw Abhijit then when he was walking gradually towards the door.

" Aare Abhijit sir, aap bhi yaha hai ? Mujshe laga ki aap ghar mein ghar gaye honge. Aur waise bhi aapke tabiyet kuch theek nahi hai kaal se…"

Sachin again trails off embarrassedly when he sees Abhijit turning back and giving a full glare on Daya, which usually was waved by him in good stride.

" Mujshe aise dekhne se kuch haasil nahi hone waala. Tumhara sachmuch tabiyet kuch theek nahi hai. Aab chalo mere saath. Baaki saab baad mein."

And without giving Abhijit a chance to protest, ordered Sachin to take Abhijit home.

* * *

When Daya saw Abhijit before leaving for home, he could not help thinking about that particular expression which he saw on his face for just a second. Maybe it was just his imagination, but what if it is real ?

Dr. Salunkhe did not even notice when Daya entered his department as he was busy examining the chip alonwith being consumed by the thoughts of Abhijit's odd expression. He only woke up when Daya put a hand on his shoulder and came face to face to Daya who was watching him curiously.

" Aap kuch soch rahe hai, doctor?"

" Aise kuch nahi, par haan, Abhijit ke bare mein kuch khayaal aa rahe hai. Pata nahi par mujshe toh aisa lag raha hai ki Abhijit hum logo se kuch chupa rahe hai. Tumhe kuch aisa nahi lagta ?"

" Pata nahi par main aabhi kuch keh nahi saakta. Abhijit toh pehle mujshe kuch nahi chupata. Toh aab kyun ?"

For a moment, there was nothing but silence, but what Dr. Salunkhe said next chilled Daya to his core.

" Daya, mujshe toh yeh kehna nahi chahiya par main keh raha hoon, tum bura maat maana."

" Kyu doctor, aisa baat kya hai ?"

" Baat kuch alaag hai. Dekho Daya, maintumhe sidha sidha poochta hoon. Kya Abhijit teen mahine se koi case pe kaam kaar rahe hai jo sirf woh aur ACP jaante hai ? Kyunki ek saptaah ke liye toh ACP kisi case ke silsile mein Delhi gaye hue hai, toh main yeh sirf tumhe pooch saakta hoon."

" Jaha tak mujshe pata hai, ACP sir aur Abhijit ne toh mujshe kuch aisa nahi bataya ki woh dono koi case ke piche hai. Par yeh saab aap mujshe kyu pooch rahe hai ?"

" Kyunki mera ek dost jo ki ek police officer hai, uska khabri ne Abhijit ko pichle teen mahine se ek hotel mein kaie baar aate jaate hue dekha hai. Aur uss hotel ka naam Paradise hai jo ki bare bare criminals ka aada hai."

Dr. Salunkhe knows that on hearing this information about his senior and friend, Abhijit, Daya will be shaken, but still as a fellow CID member, he has to tell Daya, who suddenly is lost for words. Looking up, Daya saw the same fear reflected in the eyes of Dr. Salunkhe, their thoughts conveying the same questions.

What, if Abhijit really is working upon some case without their knowledge, or worse without the knowledge of the entire CID ?

What, if those who killed Bhanu was supposed to kill Abhijit ?

What, if they got to Abhijit next ?


	2. Chapter 2

" _Better by far you should forget and smile_

_ than that you should remember and be sad ."_

..._Christina Rossetti 'Remember' ( 1862 )_

* * *

When Abhijit got home, he was tired as hell. Being on call 24 hours a day was very tiring, all the while dealing with dead bodies, murders and witnesses.

Various thoughts occupied his mind as he sat on the sofa and only some particular words came in front of his eyes.

Bhanu dead.

Death by chip.

Activated by codes.

Can only be done by an codes expert.

Codes Expert.

Something else stood out in his mind when he heard the words " Codes Expert".

Ross.

Denzel Ross.

* * *

_Then,_

_India, _

_Chennai, _

_Chennai University,_

_6 April, 1991_

_9:30 a.m._

_Abhijit has been on campus only two weeks when he spotted the senior, Denzel, who he had been partnered with, for his beginner's project, for a subject which he had a interest. Spotted him with two students and busy talking animatedly about something. The shorter of the three students were, he thought, a girl named Aisha and the other boy, Rahul._

_Sliding back into the shadows, Abhijit rounded the corner and jogged to sit under a tree. He pulled out his text book Denzel handed to him and tried to make sense of some of the coding rhythms he needed to learn and slowly forgetting everything as he became engrossed in the strange but secure unchanging world of brackets and letters. So engrossed that the shadow that fell across him did not even register until a voice made itself known._

_" Abhijit"_

_Only then Abhijit felt his concentration break and blinking, he looked up._

_Denzel._

_" Hi"_

_Denzel smiled a small smile and squatted down in front of the Chennai university newbie that he had been partnered with._

_" So newbie, when are we meeting ?"_

_" What about tomorrow ?"_

_" Ok then. Thursday, mine. 7 at night."_

_And taking a pen, Denzel scribbled an address on Abhijit's hand._

* * *

Abhijit still remembered that day with a clarity that often overwhelmed him. Despite everything that came after, all the troubles, arguments and the devastation of betrayal, that on single shinning day had the power to send emotions coursing through his body that could bring him to his knees.

It was a great start to a professional relationship.

* * *

_Then,_

_India,_

_Chennai,_

_Chennai University,_

_7 April, 1991_

_6:45 p.m._

_At 6:45, Abhijit left his dorm, freshly showered and with his backpack full of scribbled notes and questions. Word on his subject was that, out of the seniors, Denzel was the best, apparently he had a natural instinct for code and Abhijit could consider himself really lucky to be partnered with him._

_Arriving at the house that Denzel obviously shared with others, he knocked on the door. It was not Denzel who answered the door, but the girl, Aisha, who he saw that day, with a smile on her lips._

_" Newbie."_

_Abhijit peered round Aisha to see Denzel's arms full of books at the bottom of the stairs._

_" Aao aao, undar aao, Abhijit."_

_Aisha looked carefully at Abhijit before moving to one side and ushering him in. Abhijit immediately climbed the stairs three at a time and caught up with Denzel at the top of the stairs. They turned left and using an elbow, Denzel opened the door at the end of the dark corridor and entered the tidiest room Abhijit had ever seen. He looked at the room and then back at Denzel, then back to the room. Denzel just smirked at Abhijit's confused expression._

_" Karna parta hai, Abhijit, kabhi kabhi saab kuch karna parta hai."_

_Denzel said as a matter of factly and Abhijit nodded and scanned the room. Fairly standard student fare : bed, desk , two chairs, tv, shelves holding books on various levels and types of coding. No posters though, just empty magnolia painted walls and dark blue binds at the window. The bed was neat, with the covers tucked in along with the pillows arranged and seeing all this, he hesitated as to where to dump his bag until Denzel gestured to the desk._

_Abhijit gratefully slumped into one of the chairs, folding his frame over the table and emptying out his bag._

_" Ok" Denzel said sitting in the other chair," Toh kaha se shuru kare ?"_

_" Mere paas ek idea hai." Abhijit offered in a small voice, unsure if he was supposed to be driving the project or as senior partner Denzel was supposed to._

_" Well, shoot, go for it then, yeh toh tumhara hi project hai. Main toh sirf ek helping hand hoon."_

_" Well, gaming ke piche jo coding use kiya jaata hai, mujshe uss mein interest hai." Abhijit stated, kind of nervous, knowing that Denzel was the same code king on campus._

_" I am all ears."_

_" Darashal, mujshe pata toh nahi hai ki yeh possible hai bhi ya nahi ya mujshe kisi aur topic mein focus karna chahiye."_

_Denzel listened on as Abhijit rambled on and on for a good half hour, throwing an idea or suggestion here and there. Almost immediately he came to know that the junior which was sitting at his front is obviously brilliant and quite perceptive, making out from the way as he spoke clearly and calmly and created the beautiful hierarchy of code in the air that Denzel could taste._

_Finally Abhijit ran out of steam, but Denzel could still see code in his eyes, could taste the structure, the programme, which Abbhijit could create and it filled him with a sudden rush of admiration and reverence for this boy and his sharp brain. He opened a new notebook and clicked the end of the pen once, twice, thrice before looking at Abhijit thoughtfully._

_" Ok newbie, let's structure."_

_He smiled at Abhijit, then looked down at the sheet stating to draw together Abhijit's ideas into a formal hierarchy and then he handed the notebook to Abhijit who frowned._

_" Tum khatam karo," Denzel encouraged gently, " dekhte hai tumhare paas kya hai."_

* * *

Yes, it truly was a great start to a professional relationship, but who would have known that this bond of friendship was soon destined to be broken and only to be …


	3. Chapter 3

" _There are tears shed for things even here_

_and mortality touches the heart."_

..._Virgil (70-90 BC), Aeneid._

* * *

Now,

India,

Mumbai,

CID Bureau,

21 October, 2011,

9:30 a.m

The day shone a bright day, with a bit of scattered clouds around. But one man has no meaning for all these pleasures now since he was sure that his head will be served on a plate that day. Fredricks, lovingly called Freddy, by his fellow members could not help huffing and puffing as he almost flew up the stairs in his haste to enter the bureau. He knew that he will be late today fulfilling his wife's sudden whims and had come prepared to get a scolding from his seniors.

Freddy entered the bureau only to be greeted by his fellow members excitedly with the absence of their seniors, Abhijit and Daya. He felt his eyebrows vanish into his hairline when he saw them excited over something.

" Aare bhai, aaj ACP Sir aane waale ha kya?

Only Vivek's answer stopped in his musings.

" Aare Freddy Sir. Baat waisa nahi hai. ACP sir toh aagle saptah hi aa rahe hai. Aaj baat kuch alaag hai. Daya Sir ka ek dost yaha aane wala hai aur unhe lane ke liye Daya Sir airport gaya hua hai. Aur Daya Sir unke dost ko sidhe yaha lane wala hai. Aur Abhijit Sir bhi aa rahe hai, raaste mein hai."

Freddy smiles and nods satisfactorily, which turns into a frown when he along with others hears the unmistakable sound of someone's steps outside and all turns back to see their senior Abhijit, who is looking at all of them with a smile on his lips.

Seeing Abhijit in that form, their moods heightened even more, Freddy the most.

" Kya baat hai, Freddy ? Aaj tum kuch bohot hi khus lag rahe ho ? Wife ne kuch gift diya kya ? Aur sirf tum hi nahi balki," and turns back, " tum sab logo ke dekhker yehi lagta hai ki aaj kuch hone wala hai."

At the tone of his senior, Abhijit, Sachin can tell that his condition looks much more better than yesterday, when he was looking ill and not to mention, tired. But today, he looks like his old self and unknowingly, a soft smile comes on his lips, making Abhijit raise his eyebrows at him.

" Sir, aaj aap kaal se kaafi aache lag rahe hai. Aapki tabiyet theek hai ?"

" Bilkul. Kaal thora mood off tha uske maut hone ke karan, par aaj theek hoon. Aab mera choro aur batao ki aaj yaha kaun aane wala hai ?"

" Darashal, Sir, baat yeh hai ki, aaj Daya Sir ke ek dost US se aa rahe hai kuch din rehne ke liye. Aur Daya Sir unhe leene ke liye airport gya hua hai aur woh log sidhe yaha hi aa rahe hai."

" Hmmm. Toh yeh baat hai. Daya ne mujshe aaj subaah call karke kaha theek hai, tayar raho."

With that, Abhijit was about to go to his place, when Nikhil,s voice stopped him.

" Sir, aur ek baat. Aap ke liye ek parcel aaya tha. Woh aapke naam pe hai," and Nikhil presents the parcel to him. For a second, Abhijit simply looks at the parcel in his hands with his name written clearly in…

Green ink.

That was what caught Abhijit's eye first. Normally, blue ink is used, but here, in this case, green ink is used. Consumed by his thoughts of what the parcel will contain, he took the parcel to his senior, ACP Sir's cabin. Closing the door, Abhijit turned his back to them, barely missing the laughing voices drifting towards the entrance, all the while coming closer and closer.

Just then Daya entered with his friend in tow being shoulder to shoulder, with big smiles on both of their faces, and all of them turned to see a tall young and smart man.

There is no mistaking about him.

Daya's US friend.

Denzel.

Daya introduced each one of them to Denzel, immediately warming with each one of them, all the while Daya looking towards the ACP's cabin for Abhijit. Noticing Daya's gaze, Denzel also turned towards it only to stop in shock. There's no mistaking about the figure, though he have his back towards them. The same short dark hair, that stance, just the way he was holding himself... so Abhijit.

Abhijit.

The very Abhijit that he had met in that university.

Abhijit slowly turned with his eyes still on the document which was inside the parcel, never for once looking up, but doing so only when he came out of the cabin.

Silence.

At first Abhijit could not believe his eyes when he saw him in front of his eyes.

Denzel.

The very person that he has come to distrust, going by his past experiences with him.

Denzel calmly held out his hand, but inside he was in a raging whirlpool of awakened long lost emotions, buried by changing times and new memories and Abhijit, without hesitating even once, calmly took his offered hand, never giving any reason for others to doubt the past happenings between him and Denzel.

Oblivious to Denzel's inner turmoil, Daya had only just started to introduce but stopped by Abhijit's voice.

" Hum log mil chuke hai. Hum dono ek saal ke liye university mein the. Denzel mujshe ek saal bara tha. Aapse milkar khusi hui, Mr. Ross."

" Aur mujshe bhi, Abhijit."

Their eyes briefly met, flashes of distrust from Abhijit and flashes of regret from Denzel and then they carefully blanked their expressions.

And that was how it started, chapter two in the Denzel and Abhijit story.

* * *

_Then,_

_India,_

_Chennai,_

_Chennai University,_

_7 April, 1991_

_12:30 a.m_

_They did not finish until way past midnight and they were both buzzed from the pure beauty and poetry of the code, they were creating between them. They laughed that they were geeks and none of them could stop laughing when pointed to each other._

_They finally stopped when Abhijit let out the biggest yawn, Denzel had ever seen, which made him look at his watch in horror._

" _Jeez, mera kaal do do tests hai. Come on, newbie, main tumhe tumhare dorm tak chor kar aata hoon."_

" _Tum, 5 ft 6 inch, mujshe, 5 ft 8 inch ko dorm tak choroge ? Mujshe iss scene mein thora garbaar lagta hai. Tumhe nahi lagta humare roles thora reverse kar lena chahiye?"_

" _5 ft 8 inch, huh ? Tum chahe jo bhi keh lo, Abhijit, main phir bhi tumhe bacha sakta hoon, samjhe. I have moves, I will have you know sooner or later."_

" _Accha. Pata nahi par mujshe kyun aisa lagta hai ki yeh sab, kuch hi dino mein baadalne wala hai."_

" _I don't think so, newbie."_

" _But I think so, Den-den."_

" _Den-den ? Kya, aab mera naam bhi badaalne wale hai ?"_

" _Kyu ? Den-den mein kya kharabi hai ?"_

" _Kuch bhi nahi hai, Abhisha."_

_At this, Abhijit looked at Denzel in surprise, whose face is contorted in barely stifled laughter. _

" _Abhi abhi kya kaha tumne mujshe ?"_

" _Kyu ? Abhisha mein kya kharaabi hai ? Aisha tumhe pasand karti hai aur woh bhi tumhare classmate hi hai. Toh hui na Abhisha ?"_

" _You-"_

_Abhijit was about to hit Denzel when he ran away laughingly with Abhijit giving a wild chase after him. And that is how, it continued all the way back to Abhijit's dorm, easy and comfortable, the two of them now limiting their chase to a walk, with their shoulders knocking every so often, firm friends as soon as the common interests kicked in._

" _That means, goodbye for now, isn't it, Abhisha ?"_

" _Den, don't start it again."_

" _Kya, main kaha shuru kar raha hoon ? Mere pehle toh woh Rahul aur Tanya ne start kiya. Main toh third stand mein hoon."_

" _Tum kabhi nahi sudhroge, Denzel."_

" _Hey hey, mujshe Den kaho. Yeh sun ne mein accha lagta hai."_

" _Taki tum mujshe Abhisha kehte raho, hain ?"_

" _Bilkul, kyu nahi ? Yeh naam tum dono ko bohot suit karta hai, Abhisha."_

" _Well, I am flattered, Den, really."_

" _Hmmm. Toh chalo theek hai. Toh phir main tumhe parso milta hoon. Tum uss code pe kaam karna churu kar do, Abhi."_

" _Hmmm. Karna toh parega hi."_

" _Mujshe toh lagta hai ki ek din tum mujshe bhi ek accha games coder banoge. Mujshe tumse bacchkar rehna parega. Kyun, Abhisha ?"_

_At this, Abhijit gave a big push to Denzel and closed the door of his dorm quickly after entering inside, leaving Denzel to stare at the door._

" _You lose, Den-den."_

" _Main tumhe parso dekh lunga, Abhisha."_

_Denzel could not help smiling when his ears caught the muffled echo of Abhijit's laughter._

* * *

So engrossed was Abhijit in his work that he never noticed a shadow upon his figure, and until a voice made itself known.

" Abhijit"

" Hmm…"

" Dekho, main thori der ke liye bahaar ja raha hoon. Denzel ko mere ghar chorkar aata hoon."

Daya's sharp eyes caught the slight tensing of Abhijit's shoulders and cannot help wondering the reason, as to why Abhijit tensed in such a way, apart from avoiding to meet his eyes.

" Chalta hoon, Abhijit. Jald hi milenge.''

At this sentence, Abhijit looked up sharply only to meet Denzel's eyes directly, with quite something that neither Daya nor Denzel could place, but gone before they could figure it out, but nevertheless, nodded in response to them.

* * *

Throughout their journey to Daya's house, Daya could not help thinking about Abhijit's stiff behaviour towards Denzel. He had a instinct that something must have happened between them at the time of university, which ended in a bad way.

" Daya, Abhijit tumhara bohot accha dost hai na ?"

At this question, Daya looked at Denzel in surprise, whose gaze was on something far away in his memory, with misty eyes.

" Haan. Hum dono CID mein choudhah saal saath saath kaam kiya. Agar aaj main yaha tumhare saamne hu toh sirf aur airf Abhijit ke kaaran. Agar woh nahi hote toh shayaad aaj main yaha tumhare saamne gaari mein baith kar baatein nahi kar raha hote."

" That's Abhijit for you."

At these four words from Denzel, Daya looked at Denzel briefly,knowing fully that the way in which he had said these words hides a cryptic meaning and without any doubt, Daya can tell that though these words look simple, yet they held some hidden meaning in the way Denzel had said and prompting Daya to look at Denzel briefly, hesitating whether to ask the inevitable question or not.

" Daya, joh bhi poochna hai, pooch lo nahi toh pet mein dard hota rahega."

Daya smiled before putting forward the question.

" Baat darashal yeh hai ki tumne mujshe kabhi yeh nahi bataya ki tum Abhijit ke saath saath ek hi university mein parhte the."

" Kabhi chance hi nahi mila aur waise mujshe maloom bhi kaise hoga ki jo Abhijit mere university mein tha woh yehi Abhijit hi hoga ? Aur agar mujshe pata hota toh kya main tumhe nahi batata ?"

" Hmmm. Yeh baat toh hai."

" Mujshe yeh jaankar thora ajeeb laga ki Abhijit ek games coder se CID officer baan gaya."

" Games coder ? Abhijit ek games coder tha ?"

" Tha matlaab, bilkul tha. Aur woh bhi mujshe accha. Agar aaj Abhijit CID officer nahi hote toh shayed aaj meri jagaah pe woh hote."

" Abhijit ne mujshe kabhi yeh baat nahi bataya."

Even though Denzel can see the gears in Daya's head's moving, regarding Abhijit's secret as being a games coder, but he himself know, that, he can give the answer to Daya's question.

But how can he, Denzel, tell Daya, about Abhijit, his closest friend, the real reason for Abhijit's silence regarding him, being a games coder, without mentioning what happened that day ?

That day on which their relationship broke, leading Abhijit to distrust him. And judging by its looks, it can be said that, Abhijit still does not trust him. As he, Denzel, now, looks towards Daya, he had made up his mind that he won't repeat the same mistake twice now that he is with Abhijit.


	4. Chapter 4

_" We dance round in a ring and suppose, _

_But the secret sits in the middle and knows."_

_... Robert Frost (1874-1963), ' The Secret Sits' (1942)_

* * *

After leaving Denzel with his belongings in his home, Daya returned to the CID, only to be greeted with the absence of Abhijit.

" Kajal, yeh Abhijit kaha gaya ?"

" Pata nahi sir. Abhijit sir yeh keh kar chale gaye ki unhe kisi se milna hai, baas thori hi der mein lautenge. Aur sir apne cell phone bhi yaha chorkar chale gaye."

Left his cell phone ? What on earth was Abhijit thinking, leaving his cell phone, and on top of that, going somewhere, without telling anybody ?

Before any thoughts could come to his mind, Daya was roused by the ringing of his cell phone, which turned out to be Dr. Salunkhe, calling them to the forensic department. Sans Abhijit, the entire group reached the department, only to be greeted by Salunkhe's exasperated face.

" Kya, bhai. Yeh Abhijit aakhir hai kaha ? Tabse call raha hoon, cell switched off karke baitha hai."

" Pata nahi Salunkhe sahaab, yeh Abhijit aakhir kaha chala gaya aur upar se kisi ko kuch bhi keh kar nahi gaya. Woh thori der baad aa jayega. Aab aap yeh kahiye ki aap hum logo ko yaha kyun bulaiya ? Kuch haath laga hai kya ?"

" Bohot baara haath laga hai, Daya. Woh chip, jo mujshe Bhanu ke saar mein se mila tha, uske baare mein kuch pata chala hai."

" Kya pata chala hai ?"

" Uss chip ke upar kuch safed rekhayein jaisa kuch hai. Par acchi tarah se dekhne ke baad pata chala hai ki woh rekhayein nahi hai, balki ek message hai aur woh bhi code mein. Woh code koi aam aadmi paarh hi nahi sakta. Aab hume aisa ek aadmi chahiye jo ki ek codes expert hai."

" Hume itna dhoondna nahi parega. Aisa ek codes expert ko main jaanta hoon."

" Jaante ho ? Kaun hai woh, Daya ?"

" Denzel. Woh mera ek kaafi accha dost hai. Aaj hi LA se lauta hai aur abhi mere ghar mein hai.''

" Theek hai, Daya. Usse yaha lekar aao. Pata toh chale, ki yeh message aakhir hai kya ."

After being brought by Daya again to the CID, this time to the forensic department, and after the formal introductions with Salunkhe and Tareeka, Denzel could not help but gape in shock at the chip, which was presented to him for examining by Salunkhe and Daya.

" This chip….. Yeh toh… Yeh chip toh sirf humare gaming software mein use hota hai. Yeh chip aap logo ko kaise mila ?"

Both Salunkhe and Daya looked at each other in shock, with the others turning speechless, and having no other option, Daya told Denzel about the happenings of the previous night, right from the death of Abhijit's informer, Bhanu, to the findings of Salunkhe, regarding the chip, to his calling just now.

" Dekho, Denzel, bura maat maan na, par kya tum yeh bilkul dabey ke saath keh sakte ho ki yeh chip tumhare gaming software mein use hote hai ?

" Bilkul Daya, bilkul. Main abhi ek gaming software bana raha hoon, jis mein iss chip ko use kiya jaa raha hai. Mujshe aab yeh jaan na hai ki yeh chip iss Bhanu ke paas kaise aaya ? Pehli baat, yeh chip bohot unique hai aur sirf aur sirf humare hi company mein use kiya jaa raha hai aur woh bhi yeh first time hai, jo main yeh chip use kaar raha hoon. Kyunki isse pehle yeh chip kisi bhi gaming software mein use nahi kiya gaya aur upar se iss chip ko research karne mein mujshe ek saal poora laga. Aur doosri baat, yeh chip jis gaming software mein use kiya gaya hai, uss software mein abhi bhi research chaal raha hai aur upar se woh launch bhi nahi hua. Aise haalat mein yeh chip LA se yaha, India mein kaise aaya ?"

" Aisa bhi toh ho sakta hai ki tumhare company mein-"

" Daya, RG bohot baara hai, phir bhi main haar ek employee ko acchi tarah se jaanta hoon. Unke haar ek details pein mera team dhyaan rakhta hai. Aur upar se jo gaming software main abhi baana raha hoon, uske bare mein sirf aur sirf mera boss aur team jaanta hai aur kisi baahar ya bhitar, kisiko iss bare mein pata bhi nahi hai. Toh mere hote huye yeh chip waha se yaha kaise aaya ?"

" Iss chip mein kuch likha hai kya ?"

" Sirf ek word likha hai, Montreal."

" Montreal, woh toh Canada mein hai."

" Wohi toh, paar iss chip mein Montreal kyun likha hua hai ?"

All realizes that perhaps, this is a question, nobody know the answer to, remaining in the shadows.

* * *

The group, now with Denzel, entered the bureau and this time, they are greeted by the sight of Abhijit in ACP's cabin, talking to someone on his cell, along with holding some folders in his other hand. Switching off his cell, Abhijit came out, only to be greeted by the sight of his subordinates waiting patiently for him, with Daya and Denzel at the lead.

" Abhijit, mijshe tumse poochna hai ?"

" Toh poocho, Daya. Ismein sochne ki kya baat hai ?"

" Darashal, baat Bhanu ke bare mein hai."

At this quiet answer from Daya, Abhijit stopped dead in his tracks, and turned to look back at him slowly with a questioning gaze.

" Bhanu ke bare mein ? Matlaab main kuch samjha nahi. Bhanu ke baare mein kya jaana hai ?"

" Darashal, Bhanu ke dimaag mein jo chip mila hai, uss chip mein ek word likha hai — Montreal. Aur toh aur woh chip aisa gaming software mein se hai jo abhi tak humare desh mein launch tak nahi hua hai."

" Gaming software…?"

" Haan Abhijit. Aur Salunkhe sahaab ka kehna hai ki jisne bhi yeh yeh chip plant kiya hai, yeh koi surgeon hi hoga."

" Jaha tak mujshe pata hai, maine Bhanu ko kisi kaam mein nahi lagaya. Main abhi abhi uske ghar se hi aa raha tha. Uska bhai ka yeh kehna hai ki kuch din pehle ki baat hai, Bhanu kuch pareshan se lag rahe the. Kisike poochne par bhi woh kuch jawaab nahi deta tha. Aur ek baat, Bhanu ke bhai ka kehna hai ki kuch do mahine pehle Bhanu kuch pareshan jaisa tha aur upar se raat ko der se laut te the. Aur exactly, do mahine pehle, woh ek din gayaab ho gaya, na khabar na kuch, aur waise hi ek din bina kisi ko kuch bataye gayaab ho gaya aur woh bhi poor ek saptah. Aur pata hai, yeh Bhanu do din pehle hi lautke aaya hai."

" Yaani ki, unn dino mein jaroor kuch na kuch hua hoga, tabhi toh Bhanu ko raaste se hataa diya."

" Hmm. Lagta toh kuch aisa hi hai."

" Tumhe pata –"

Whatever Daya was about to say was drowned in the sound of the bureau's double doors opening, with all of them turning towards the sound, and just in time, they saw a young lady, who almost ran to Abhijit and Daya with a pleading look on her face.

" Please, aap log kuch kijiye. Dekhiye,mere paati pichle do teen dino se gayaab hai. Aur unka cell bhi nahi lag raha hai. Aap log jaldi kuch kijiye nahi toh main -"

She would have fallen at Abhijit and Daya's feet, had not Abhijit not caught her gently, leading her to sit on a chair, given by Daya, along with Purabi giving her a glass of water.

" Dekhiye, aap thora shaant ho jaiye. Hum log hai na, hum log pata lagayenge. Pehle please aap shaant ho jaiye."

After taking a few gulps of water, the young lady became calm, prompting Abhijit to take a chair opposite her, sitting on it with a calm expression.

" Aab bataiye, aakhir baat kya hai ?"

" Mera naam Nishita hai. Pehle main yaha rehti thi par aab marriage ke baad main apni husband, Alokesh, ke saath Canada mein rehti hoon. Woh kisi kaam ke silsile mein yaha aaye the isliye main bhi unke saath yaha chali aayi. Hum yaha aakar Blue Diamond mein thehre the. Saab kuch theek thak chal raha tha ki achanak do din pehle Alokesh achanak gayaab ho gaya."

" Achanak gayaab ho gaya se matlaab ? Main kuch samjha nahi."

" Alokesh aur main yaha October 13 ko Blue Diamond mein thehre the aur 18 tareekh ko Alokesh gayaab ho gaya. Woh aise keh kar gaye the ki unhe kahi jaana hai, baas do ya teen ghante mein laut aayenge, par woh aab tak laut ke nahi aaye. Mujshe toh bohot dar lag raha hai ki unhe kahi kuch ho na gaya ho."

" Aisa Alokesh ne pehle bhi kiya hai ?"

" Ji nahi. Mera matlaab hai ki Alokesh pehle bhi mujshe aise keh kar gaye hai par woh time pein aate the. Aisa kabhi nahi hote the ki Alokesh kehte kuch aur the aur karte kuch aur the, woh hamesha time pein aate the, chahe kuch bhi ho jaye."

" Accha, aap ek baat mujshe batiye. Kya Alokesh inn dino apko kuch ajeeb laga ? Mera matlaab hai ki kuch ajeeb bartab ya kuch pareshani ?"

" Nahi toh. Aisa kuch ajeeb nahi par haan, Alokesh ko ek mahine se bohot bar koi call kiya karte the. Maine poocha bhi tha ki woh kaun hai jo har baar call karte hai par Alokesh hamesha baat ko taala deta tha."

" Aapko kisike upar shaq hai ? Kaun aisa hai jo Alokesh ke saath aisa kaar sakta hai ?"

" Agar main shaq karu bhi, toh kiske upar karu ? Alokesh jis company mein kaam karte the, uss company ka anek business rivals hai. Agar uss hisaap se dekha jai toh mein yehi kahunga ki yeh kaam kisi business rival ya partner ka hi hoga."

" Kaunsa company mein Alokesh kaam karta tha ?"

" Ieo Corporation. Alokesh iss company ka CS hai."

For a moment, there was only silence, as Abhijit slowly stood up, never taking his eyes off Nishita, and it came as a surprise, when he gave a notepad to her, suprising her, as well as others, by his action.

" Aap apna aur Alokesh ka number de dijiye. Agar jaroorat pare toh hum log call kar sakte hai. Aab aap ja sakte hai par aap yeh desh chor kar maat jaiye."

After Nishita's departure, helped by Purabi, Abhijit picked the notepad, tearing the paper, with a calculated gaze, suprising the others, and looking up only, when Daya commented on him.

" Kya baat hai, Abhijit ?"

" Ek baat batao, Daya. Tumhe yeh nahi lagta ki yeh Nishita humse kuch chupa raha hai ?"

" Hmm. Thora thora toh lagta hai."

" Par sir, aapne Nishitaji ko kyun unke aur Alokesh ka number likhne diya ?"

At this simple question from Nikhil, Abhijit's gaze again goes to the teared page, prompting Freddy, to repeat the same question that Daya has asked previously.

" Abhijit sir, kya baat hai ? Aap itna gaur se kya dekh rahe hai ?"

" Baat yeh ki mujshe kehna toh nahi chahiye, par kehna par raha hai ki pata nahi mujshe kyun aisa lagta hai ki yeh Nishita jo hai, mujshe thora garbar lagta hai. Aapne paet mein bohot kuch chupa ke baitha hai. Aur uski number jo maine liya woh sirf ek bahana hai uski handwriting dekhne ke liye. Mujshe uske character jaana hai kyunki mujshe Nishita ko dekhkar aisa lagta hai ki woh ek aisa aurat hai ko aapne pati ke liye kuch bhi kar sakti hai. Main poore dabein ke saath yeh nahi keh sakta par mujshe kuch waisa shaq hai. Aab samjshe kuch, Freddy sir ?

" Kya sir, aap kyun …. Ji, sir, main bilkul samaj gaya."

" Toh aab Freddy, aab jab ki tum samaj hi gaye ho, toh ek kaam karo. Ek handwriting expert ko lekar aao aur iss kaam pein laga do. Vivek, tum mobile company waalo se pata lagaon ki aabhi iss Alokesh ka cell location kya hai aur saath mein mujshe Alokesh ka pichle teen mahine ki poore call list chahiye. Aur Sachin, tum Kajal ke saath Canada mein jao aur iss Ieo Corp. mein bharti ho jao. Mujshe iss Alokesh ka sab details chahiye – business partners, rivals se lekar bank accounts tak. Kuch bhi nahi chutna chahiye. Aur Daya, tum ek kaam karo. Purabi aur Nikhil ke saath Blue diamond mein jao aur Alokesh ka kaamra check karo. Pata nahi par mujshe aisa lagta hai ki waha kuch na kuch jaroor milega."

Abhijit was about to turn back, when his eyes caught the gaze of Denzel, who was silently watching all the interactions between them with a smile on his face, and whom Abhijit has almost forgotten about his presence, in all these going-ons. And he was about to say something when Abhijit himself beat him to it, suprising both Daya and Denzel, but more to Daya.

" Tum jao, Daya. Main inko tumhare ghar tak chor kar aata hoon. Aur haan, sab sambhalke jaana."

With the parting advice from their senior, all left for their designated tasks, leaving only Abhijit and Denzel alone in the bureau.

" Toh chale, Abhijit ?"

Without a word, Abhijit turned towards the entrance, leaving Denzel to follow after him. Just when Abhijit was about to reach the car, he found himself stopping, when he felt the gentle but firm grip of Denzel's hand on his wrist.

" Iss tarah se mera haath pakarne ka kya matlaab ?", Abhijit asked, all the while trying to yank his wrist out of Denzel's grip, but failing miserably.

" Tum mera baat suno toh. Tum sun hi nahi rahe ho, tabse kuch na kuch excuse bana ke chala jaate ho. Tu—"

" Dekho, Denzel. Mujshe unn poorana baaton mein koi interest nahi hai. Jo hua so hua, woh sab bhul jao," said Abhijit, now forcefully yanking his wrist out of Denzel's grip with success, " aur ghar jaana hai toh chalo, mere paas time nahi hai."

Denzel knew that something like this is bound to happen, since what has happened that day, but judging by Abhijit's bitterness towards him, he knew that its not going to be easy to mend the broken relationship between them, but he is willing to give it a try, and keeping that in mind, Denzel opened the door to his side, sitting opposite Abhijit, becoming ready to go towards his destination.


	5. Chapter 5

" _O what a tangles web we weave,_

_When first we practise to deceive !"_

..._ Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832), Marmion (1808)_

* * *

All throughout the return journey from Daya's house to the bureau, Abhijit could not even for a second, put the thoughts of Denzel away from his mind. Which is why, he found himself thinking of Denzel's apologies.

Of apologies…

But surely why now…

But Abhijit finds his thoughts coming to an end when he reaches the double doors of the bureau, his mind automatically going into alert mode, dismissing any other thoughts. Entering through, he is greeted by Freddy, who is waiting patiently, while the handwriting expert is deciphering Nishita's writing.

" Sir, maine writing expert ko bula liya hai. Woh Nishita ke writing ke upar kaam kaar rahe hai."

" Theek hai, Freddy."

And exactly at that moment, the writing expert stands up slowly, signaling his end of deciphering, and turns to Abhijit.

" Sir, aapne jis handwriting ko decipher karne diya tha, uske upar kaam ho gaya."

Putting the writing in the slide, coming as slide show, the writing expert turns to them.

" Yeh jo writing aap dekh rahe hai, yeh poora vertically upright hai. Iska matlab yeh aisa koi hai jo kaam dimaag se karta hai, dil se nahi. Iss kisaam ke log logical aur practical maana jaata hai. Yeh log jo bhi kaam karte hai hamesha poore planning se saath karte hai aur usmein woh log emotions ko jaara bhi jagaah nahi dete hai. Aur yeh kehna toh parega hi ki iss kisaam ke log ke paas bohot self control aur confidence hote hai aur yeh log bohot hi ambitious hote hai. Matlaab, aap log yeh samaj jaiye ki chahe kuch bhi ho jaiye, yeh log poore confidently aapne kaam mein kamiyaab ho sakte hai, agar mauka diya jai."

For a moment, both the writing expert and Freddy, simply looked at Abhijit, who was looking intently at the slide without giving them a sparing glance, suddenly turned to the expert, with a smile on his lips, and thanking him for taking his time in helping them.

" Maine kaha tha, Freddy. Yeh Nishita jo dikhti hai waisa hai nahi."

" Toh sir, aab hum log kya kare ?"

And as luck would have it, exactly at that moment, Vivek came bounding into the bureau.

" Kuch pata chala, Vivek ?" asked Abhijit, giving him his full attention.

" Haan sir. Kuch kuch pata chala hai. Mobile company waalo ne toh Alokesh ka sim card ka locaton nikal hi nahi paaya. Laagta hai ki sim card jaha kahi bhi hai poori tarah se damaged ho gaya hai. Aur sir, ek aur baat, maine Alokesh ki poora iss mahine ki call list bhi mangaya tha. Toh maine uss list mein ek ajeeb baat notice kiya. Uss list mein ek aisa number hai jo kayi baar dikhai paar raha hai. Iss number se Alokesh ko bohot baar call kiya gaya hai aur upar se Alokesh bhi iss number ko bohot baar call kiya hai."

Providing that information, Vivek forwarded the lists to Abhijit and for a moment, there was only silence as the duo watched their senior scanning the lists, with his eyes staying longer on certain numbers.

" Kya baat hai, sir ? Aap kuch pareshan se lag rahe hai ? Kya kuch ho gaya hai sir ?" Freddy asked, with a hint of nervousness in his voice, as the silence seem to be carried on and on, seemingly like forever.

"Pareshan hone ki baat hi hai, Freddy." Abhijit replies in a tense voice, addressing the duo, " Vivek, tum jis number ki baat kar rahe ho, woh number usi hotel ka hai, jis mein Alokesh thehra hua tha."

" Yani ki, Blue diamond mein ?" Vivek asks with surprise evident in his voice.

" Exactly." Abhijit replies echoing Vivek's surprise.

" Par sir, aapko yeh kuch ajeeb nahi lagta ki jis hotel mein Alokesh thehra hua tha, usi hotel ke number par woh itna baar call kyun karega ?"

" Wohi toh baat hai, Freddy. Waise bhi chaar ya paanch baar karne se koi phark nahi parta, kyunki woh koi lunch ya dinner service ka order mangaya hoga. Lekin agar koi ek hi deen mein bees baar kare toh….." Abhijit trails off, all the while shaking his head, again continuing, " Nahi, kahi na kahi kuch na kuch toh jaroor garbaar hai. Yeh couple dono hi garbaar hai. Yeh Nishita kuch na kuch toh aur jaanta hoga paar hum logo ko baata nahi rahi hai. Aur upar se yeh Alokesh. Usko bhi mujshe kuch theek nahi lag raha hai. Pata nahi par mujhe aisa lag raha hai ki yeh Alokesh koi CS nahi hai. Logo ko dikhane ke liye CS karta hai, par asal mein kuch aur hi hai."

* * *

Reaching Blue diamond, even Daya could say at a glance that it is not some ordinary hotel. Flashing his ID, Daya entered alongwith Purabi and Nikhil. The trio reached Nishita's room and were welcomed warmly.

" Aap log yaha ? Kuch pata chala Alokesh ke baare mein ?" Nishita asks with a questioning gaze in her eyes.

" Dekhiye, aisa toh abhi kuch keh nahi sakte par hum log koshish kar rahe hai. Aab hume yeh bataye ki Alokesh ka kaamra kidhar hai ?" Daya replied.

" Alokesh ka room toh udhar hai par woh kabhi bhi mujhe under nahi jaane dete. Uss room ke key toh hamesha Alokesh aapne saath lekar jaate the."

" Koi baat nahi. Hum khol dete hai. Aakhir dekhe toh sahi, aisa iss kaamre mein hai kya jo kisi ko dekhne hi nahi dete."

Calling the manager, the room is finally unlocked, with the trio entering inside while telling the duo to wait outside the room.

At first glance, the room seemed ordinary, with nothing out of place, but something … there was something, Daya was sure of it, which caught his eye.

A splash of colours.

Upon moving forward, Daya saw two framed photos on the study desk.

The first one of Alokesh and his wife, Nishita. And the second one-

The second one is the one which caught his eye.

Now he remembered.

This is the same photo that he saw on Denzel's bedside table. And that could mean only one thing.

That means Denzel and Alokesh were in the same university and being in the same photo means that they knew each other very well. And with Abhijit, also in the same photo with them, it goes without any doubt that, both Denzel and Abhijit knows Alokesh.

But still his mind could not fathom certain facts.

First, Abhijit's informer, Bhanu, who is killed.

Second, Denzel's sudden coming to India.

Third, the unsolved disappearance of Alokesh.

No matter what, he feels as if they are connected in some way or other, which he is finding it hard to decipher. Like a unseen thread, connected, but seemed to be invisible to the naked eye.

Making a mental note to ask Abhjit and Denzel about Alokesh, he searched the entire room, scanning every nook and corner, alongwith Purabi and Nikhil. Besides some folders, which they took away, the entire room was empty, and finally decided to return back to the bureau, alongwith Nishita.

* * *

A/N : Sorry, folks. But this is going to be the last chapter that I am gonna post this month. The reason, being that, I am going into hibernation for two months due to my exams, which are nearly knocking at my door.

But you do not havta worry, since I am not going to abandon any of my babies and leaving them out alone in the world of fanfiction.

I will be back, till then, keep smiling and take care ^.^

As my parting gift, here's a sneak peak of the next chapter. Till then, tada, mah frndz ^.^

" _Nishita ji, aapko phir se yaha aane ke liye sukriya. Darashal aapse kuch aur sawal poochne the jo aapse uss samay baaki reh gaya the. Hum aapke jyaada samay nahi lenge, baas yuhi kuch paanch se minute lenge," Daya states in a calm voice, " baas sirf aapka cooperation chahiye."_

" _Ji poochiye. Aapko jo poochna hai poochiye." Nishita says with a calm expression, " Mujhe jitna pata hai, main unn sab sawalo ka jawaab dungi."_

" _Dekhiye, aapko shayad yeh sawal sunke thora ajeeb lagega, par kya aap poore yakin ke saath yeh keh sakte hai ki aapke husband, Alokesh ek CS hi hai ? Mera matlab yeh hai ki kya Alokesh koi aur doosra kaam bhi karta tha ?"_

" _Ji, nahi. Alokesh CS hi hai. Woh koi aur kaam nahi karte the. Par aap yeh kyun pooch rahe hai ? Kuch garbaar hai kya ?"_

" _Garbar matlab...," Daya stops, trailing off, hesitating to tell the truth._

" _Akhir baat kya hai ? Aap kuch bolte kyun nahi ?"_

" _Darashal, baat yeh hai ki hume kuch files mile hai Alokesh ke study room mein se aur unn sab files mein aisa kuch bhi nahi hai jishe yeh keh saake ki Alokesh ek CS hai."_

" _Kya !? Aise kaise ho sakta hai ? Yeh ho hi nahi sakta ! Aapka kehne ka matlab hai ki Alokesh ek CS nahi hai ? Agar CS nahi hai toh phir kya hai ?"_

" _Program codes expert."_


	6. Chapter 6

" _The cruelest lies are often told in silence."_

- _Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-94), Virginibus Puerisque (1881)_

* * *

" Nishita ji, aapko phir se yaha aane ke liye sukriya. Darashal aapse kuch aur sawal poochne the jo aapse uss samay baaki reh gaya the. Hum aapke jyaada samay nahi lenge, baas yuhi kuch paanch se minute lenge," Daya states in a calm voice, " baas sirf aapka cooperation chahiye."

" Ji poochiye. Aapko jo poochna hai poochiye." Nishita says with a calm expression, " Mujhe jitna pata hai, main unn sab sawalo ka jawaab dungi."

" Dekhiye, aapko shayad yeh sawal sunke thora ajeeb lagega, par kya aap poore yakin ke saath yeh keh sakte hai ki aapke husband, Alokesh ek CS hi hai ? Mera matlab yeh hai ki kya Alokesh koi aur doosra kaam bhi karta tha ?"

" Ji, nahi. Alokesh CS hi hai. Woh koi aur kaam nahi karte the. Par aap yeh kyun pooch rahe hai ? Kuch garbaar hai kya ?"

" Garbar matlab….," Daya stops, trailing off, hesitating to tell the truth.

" Akhir baat kya hai ? Aap kuch bolte kyun nahi ?"

" Darashal, baat yeh hai ki hume kuch files mile hai Alokesh ke study room mein se aur unn sab files mein aisa kuch bhi nahi hai jishe yeh keh saake ki Alokesh ek CS hai."

" Kya !? Aise kaise ho sakta hai ? Aapka kehne ka matlab hai ki Alokesh ek CS nahi hai ? Agar CS nahi hai toh phir kya hai ?"

" Program codes expert."

" What nonsense ? Yeh ho hi nahi sakta ! Alokesh mera husband hai aur kya mujhe yeh bhi pata nahi hoga ki mera husband kaam kya karta hai ?"

" Humare paas sabood hai," Daya binds his saying by forwarding the files on the table, at her front, " aur waise bhi hum bina sabood ke kisi ke upar injam nahi lagate."

For a moment, all of them watched as Nishita scanned the contents of the files with an expression of utter disbelief on her face.

_Not a CS, but a codes expert._

" Yeh ho bhi kaise sakta hai ? Alokesh ek codes expert aur mijhe iske baare mein kuch bhi pata nahi ? Par kaise aur usne ….."

" Dekhiye Nishitaji, kehna toh nahi chahiye par aab toh yeh sab dekhkar yehi lagta hai Alokesh aap se jhoot bola. Woh logo ko dikhane ke liye CS karta tha par asal mein ek codes expert hai."

Daya noticing her silence, carried on.

" Accha, aap ek baat bataye. Kabhi bhi Alokesh ne aapke samne kisi Abhijit ya Denzel ke baare mein zikar kiya hai ?"

All of them, present there looked up startled, at Daya's face, including his subordinates.

" Abhijit ? Denzel ? Nahi toh. Yeh dono naam toh main aaj pehli baar sun raha hoon. Par aap kyun pooch rahe hai ? Kya koi pareshan hone ki baat hai kya ? "

" Baat kuch aisa hai ki Abhijit aur Denzel aapke paati, Alokesh ka university friend hai. Kya Alokesh ne kabhi bhi aapko uske doosto ke baare mein nahi bataya ?"

" Bilkul nahi. Alokesh kabhi bhi mere saath aapne college ke dino ke baare mein kabhi baat nahi karta tha. Aur toh aur college friends ek ka bhi contact mein nahi hai. Maine poocha bhi, ki aakhir aisa kya baat hai jiske karan woh contact mein nahi hai, par Alokesh hamesha mere baat ko taal deta tha."

" Agar baat kuch aisa hai toh Alokesh ke study table mein yeh photo kyun framed hai ?" Daya aked in a calm voice, putting the photo at her front, on the table. For a moment, all of them watched as Nishita, who in turn, looked at the photo with an unreadable expression on her face.

" Iss photo ke baare mein toh main kuch keh nahi sakta, ki yeh photo kyun table pe framed tha. Main uska patni hoon phir bhi aise bohot se baate hai jo woh mijhe nahi batate the. Alokesh ne mujhe khud hi kaha tha ki woh apne college ke kisi friends ke contact mein nahi hai, phir na jaane kyun yeh photo unhone framed kiya. Main iske baare main kuch nahi jaanta."

_What could be possibly be more good than this ? _

_Here, Daya was thinking that Alokesh's wife would throw some light upon this case, but looks like failure is winning, dampening their thoughts._

_Now, there is only one person, which remains the last option._

* * *

" Tum kisi Alokesh ko jaante ho jo tumhare saath college mein paarhte the ?"

_Stunned._

_And stunned would be the understatement of the century, if only he would be feeling that way, and even he does not know, what exactly is he feeling at that moment, when he heard that name, when he himself had not heard that name since his college days._

_However, the million dollar question remains as to how and where Daya came upon that name, hoping against hope that it is not the same Alokesh, of his college days. _

_However, he knows that one can only hope. _

For a few seconds, Denzel looked at Daya in the hope that this is a joke played upon him to rile him up, because who in their right mind would ask this type of question in the middle of the night, and too, after coming directly from work ?

Obviously, Daya would.

" Daya, yeh kaisa behud-"

Denzel felt silent at the expression on Daya's face, when he was about to question the absurdness, only to be startled to stunned silence, by Daya's narrowed eyes.

" Mujhe toh yeh maloom hi nahi ki yeh saab aakhir ho kya raha hai ? Aur upar se yeh…." Daya trails off in anger, stomping over to the drawing room, leaving behind Denzel to stare after him in bewildered surprise. Finally, getting off his shock, he too followed Daya, only to be stopped in his tracks when he saw him looking sad and dejected, sitting alone on the sofa.

" Daya," Denzel aid softly, sitting on the sofa beside him, continuing, " Aakhir baat kya hai ?"

" Pata nahi woh kyun aisa kar rahe hai, woh mujhe kuch chupa rahe hai."

Abhijit,

Daya talking about him. Isn't it always like that ?

Ever since he has came here, he has himself seen the bond between these two. And even having that bond, when one of them keeps thing from the other, then what will be the expected reaction ?

And it goes without any saying that Daya fits the bill.

" Pata nahi yeh Abhijit ko ho kya gaya hai," Daya said, continuing, " Jabse Bhanu maara hai, tabse kuch badla badla saa lag raha hai."

" Tumne usse poochne ki koshish nahi ki ? Jaroor kuch baat hoga, tabhi toh-"

" Tum Abhijit ko nahi jaante. Woh aisa tabhi karta hai jab woh koi bohot baara kadaam uthane waale hai. Abhijit pehle bhi aisa bohot baar kar chuka hai. Mujhe daar hai ki woh koi ulta chulta kuch kar na de," Daya said, furthermore continuing with a sigh, " Mujhe toh samaj hi nahi aa raha ki main kya karu, aur jab pochta hoon, toh koi jaaab nahi. Pata nahi…" and trails off, again continuing, startling Denzel, " Tumne kaha nahi ki tum kisi Alokesh ko jaante ho ?"

" Haan. Ek Alokesh tha jo mera classmate tha. College ke baad humara contact toot gaya. Why ?"

" Woh aurat jo subaah bureau mein aaya, uska pati ka naam Alokesh hai jo ki ek program coder hai, tumhare jaisa."

" Alokesh !?" Denzel exclaimed in stunned suprise, " Yeh tume kisne kaha ? Alokesh kabhi ek coder ho hi nahi sakta. College mein yeh subject mera optional tha, aur uska optional math tha. Math aur coding, they are both completely different from each other, two completely different branches. Aise mein Alokesh kabhi coder ho hi nahi sakta."

" Agar aisa hai, toh uske table mein woh file nahi hone chahiye tha, jo humlogo mila."

" Kya file ?"

" Coding."

" What ? Yeh ho hi nahi sakta ! Aare,maine kaha na, Alokesh ka subject hi alaag tha aur coding itna aasan bhi nahi ki iska online course kar saake."

" Toh phir coding ka file Alokesh ke paas kyun mila, aur upar se woh sab files uske handwriting se likha hua hai."

The blank stare that Denzel gave Daya, said it loud that now, even Denzel had gotten confused over Alokesh's real profession, and Daya, can only hope that they can get to the bottom of this.

_They have not even solved the reason of death of Bhanu, and now, this… And even, Abhijit is too not helping, by avoiding him. It was as if the answers are eluding them for some reason, complicating the matters, but, now, seeing all of this, he can't help, but have a stinking suspicion that, maybe, all of this happenings are related to one other, and they just have to find out the common factor._

_Speaking of common factor, the only common which he can find is coding._

_First, Bhanu's death by a chip, which is used in coding for games._

_Second, Denzel, a code programmer, coming to India._

_Third, Alokesh's sudden disappearance, now coming to light, that he is also a code programmer._

_What is with codes and disappearances and deaths ?_

_Frankly, truth be told, Daya could not figure out the head or tail of this matter, and no matter, from what angle he tries to see, he feels like as if he is running in circles like a headless chicken._

" Aise sochne se kuch phaida nahi hone wala." Denzel said in a firm voice, continuing, " Suno, Daya, main ek kaam kar sakta hoon. Agar tumhe shaq hai iss Alokesh ke upar, toh main usse check kar sakta hoon."

" Tumhe itn-"

" Hey, c'mon Daya. Tum mera dost ho. Kya main apne ek dost ke liye itna bhi nahi kar sakta ?" Denzel interrupted, " Aur waise bhi, mujhe bhi jaan na hai ki yeh Alokesh akhir hai kaun aur karta kya hai ? Aise tumhara kaam bhi ho jayega aur mera bhi. Tumhe koi problem hai ?"

" Waise toh nahi hai, par-" Daya said, only to be interrupted again by Denzel.

" Toh phir jaldi kuch banao, mujhe bohot bhug lag raha hai." Denzel said, tugging , " Aab chalo bhi."

And with this, Denzel tugged Daya in the direction of the kitchen, who can't help but smile at his friend's antics.

If only they had known, what would happen in a few hours...


	7. Chapter 7

_" It was beautiful and simple_  
_ as all truly great swindles are"_  
_ ... O. Henry (1862-1910) : Gentle Grafter ( 1908)_

* * *

Now,  
India,  
Mumbai,  
CID Bureau,  
22 October, 2011  
9:15 a.m

The loud sound of the door opening startled everyone in the bureau, present there and all looked up to see Daya, who have wandered in haphazardly, looking quite a mess.

Shock.

Disbelief.

That's the only words that came to all of their minds present there, including Freddy, Purabi and Vivek, and sensing their senior's distress, they jumped to their feet, with their concerned voices, barely entering entering his hazed mind.

" Daya sir, kya baat hai ? Aap theek toh hai na, sir ?"

" Sir, aap bathiye."

With that, the trio helped Daya into the chair, with Purabi presenting a glass of water to him, and all the while, they watched anxiously, with hearts in their throats, as to what made their Daya sir behave in such a way, while he drank the full glass in one go.

Just about, when the trio were about to ask Daya, they heard the unmistakable sound of footsteps, and from the sound it, it seemed to of more than one person. Turning back, they saw Abhijit and Sachin, who looked shocked at their conditions.

The duo almost came running to Daya, with them startling to shock, when it is Daya, who now, came running to Abhijit, with a pleading look on his face.

" Kya hua, Daya ? Tum pareshan lag rahe ho ?"

" Haan. Denzel ke baare mein."

" Denzel…" Abhijit repeated with a blank stare, trailing off, " Kyun ? Usse kya hua ?"

" Uska project chori ho gaya hai."

Denzel.

Project.

Stolen.

That was never a good sign, and, moreover, these three words does not mix together. From his experience, Abhijit remembers that whatever project Denzel undertakes, it was always big, to the point of complex, with the element of precision being present. And he knows, that Denzel always takes in consideration, all the pros and cons, so whatever project he makes, was always a force to be reckoned with. And, for such a project to be stolen means…

" Aab Denzel kaha hai?"

" Aaj subaah char baaje hi US chala gaya."

" Aur tum mujhe aab bata rahe ho !?" Abhijit said incredulously, " Tumhe tabhi batana chahiye tha ! Aur waise bhi, woh toh chala gaya. Aab main kya kar sakta hoon ?"

" Tum uski madaad toh kar sakte ho." Daya said, interrupting firmly, when he saw Abhijit was about to speak, " Dekho Abhijit, main yeh toh nahi jaanta ki tum dono ke bis kya hua tha bees saal pehle, par please, aab woh sab chor do. Jo hua so hua. Please Abhijit."

For a moment, Abhijit simply stared at Daya in the eye, with a blank expression, and just as suddenly, he broke his gaze on Daya, to pull one of the chairs to sit on it, but not before, Daya saw a flash of something flash in those eyes.

" Agar main yeh sab kar raha hoon, toh sirf tumhare liye." Abhijit said with a sigh, sitting on the chair, now looking at Daya, " Aab batao ki akhir hua kya hai ?"

Daya still could not comprehend what he saw in those eyes, just a few seconds before. But he knows one thing for sure, that he is going to have a long talk with Denzel and Abhijit, after all of this are over.

" Darashal, yeh saab taab hua jab kaal raat ko hum log, yaani ki, main aur Denzel, dinner karke so rahe the…"

* * *

_Then,  
India,  
Mumbai,  
Daya's house,  
21 October, 2011  
12:00 a.m_

_Daya almost fell out of the bed, when he was woken up by the shrill tone of Denzel"s mobile. And it looks like he is not the only one._

" _God damnit ! What's the hell is wrong with you ? Kya thori der ke liye bhi so nahi sakta ?" Denzel exclaimed in a grumbling voice, " Who's this ? This better be good-"_

_A fond smile came to Daya's lips when he heard Denzel's curse the caller, which suddenly turned into worry, when he saw Denzel jumping out of the bed and tugging his laptop on the study table._

_Sensing his distress, Daya came to Denzel, who was switching on his laptop._

" _Den, kya baat hai ?"_

_To his question, Denzel switched his mobile to loudspeaker, with the voice of another person drifting away, and with the same element of distress._

" _Have you switched on or not ?"_

" _I am doing it."_

" _Denzel, open your mail. I sent you a mail about ten minutes ago."_

" _Okay, okay."_

_Denzel's inbox popped up showing two or three new mails of which half he knew, would be rubbish. And at the very top, sat a mail from his friend, Mike, with his home mail address, which he clicked, and it opened. It came out to be blank, but it had an attachment code '.doc', which he double clicked, but programmer or not, his sleepy eyes just pulled up some random nonsense._

" _What is this all about, Mike ? What am I looking at ?"_

" _Back code for the new racing game from ITech. It was sent to us anonymously last night."_

" _Denzel, look closely, man."_

_Denzel tried, his eyes still tired and sleepy and his brain on a go-slow. He saw code move on the screen as he scrolled down and it was difficult to see a pattern. _

_Then, just as suddenly, in the blink of an eye, his coder's brain clicked into recognition._

_What the hell ?_

_Impossible._

" _Mike ! That is my code. My programming."_

" _Exactly. We did not get sent their code."_

_Even though Daya could not understand the codes with numbers and brackets present on the screen, but from their discussion, it became clear that someone had stole Denzel's work and made it their own._

" _How is this possible ?"_

" _Denzel, I myself don't even know how they did it. But one thing, I can say for sure is that, someone sent us this to show that somehow ITech have got our code, not only that but…"_

" _But what, Mike ?"_

" _The thing is that this code is a specific one from the racing game, which they launched as Beta… last night."_

" _Last night !? But this is the code for Streets 2 and the code for the Beta was launched for next week."_

" _Look, Denzel. I don't know how to break it to you, but they have stolen our work, your work and they have launched it as their own."_

"_But how can they do that ? The security protocols in my code-"_

" _Stripped, Denzel. Its stripped. Every single line that identifies this as our code. Its all gone, Denzel. All gone."_

" _I am coming, Mike. Get Ed and Trixie in. I assume Mitali knows ?"_

" _Mitali is here with me. And I am at the office, man."_

" _See you there."_

* * *

Now,  
India,  
Mumbai,  
CID Bureau,  
22 October, 2011  
9:45 a.m.

For a long moment, Abhijit simply stared at Daya, seemingly at a loss for words, and it was only Freddy and Vivek's queries, which roused them.

" Par koi bhala aisa kyun karega?"

" Haan sir, aur aisa jisne bhi yeh kiya hai, unn logo ka bajaay kya hai ? Kyunki koi toh bina baat ke yeh sab nahi karega."

What can Abhijit and Daya answer to these questions, when they are the very queries, which are revolving around both of their minds ?


End file.
